CAREERS: Shirlaw takes over from Ewen as Saatchi CD

<p>Australian creative Dave Shirlaw will take over from Saatchi & </p><p>Saatchi Vietnam creative director Paul Ewen, who leaves in mid-December </p><p>for a six-month stint at the agency's London office before he takes up a </p><p>new assignment with the network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Shirlaw was attached with Saatchi Sydney after leaving the US, where the </p><p>network had shuttered its San Francisco operations. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Shirlaw, who has also worked with Saatchi Vietnam general manager Mike </p><p>Rebelo in Australia, will head a largely local creative team. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ewen said the agency built up local creative talent from scratch since </p><p>receiving its joint-venture licence in the late '90s. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The office has 28 staff and only two - Ewen and Rebelo - are </p><p>expatriates. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It is a very young office overall. I was 25 years old when I started as </p><p>creative director and Mike was 27 when he started as general </p><p>manager. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Most of the Vietnamese staff are also quite young and many have been </p><p>with us since the office first opened," said Ewen, who has been in </p><p>Vietnam for the past four years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ewen said the country now boasted some very fine Vietnamese creative </p><p>talent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When I first got here we were seeing the first Vietnamese copywriters </p><p>coming through. The good news now is that there are some very good </p><p>Vietnamese people in copy-writing and art direction, who have grown by </p><p>leaps and bounds." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Saatchi, according to Ewen, invested heavily in developing its local </p><p>creative talent, including providing out-of-country training attachments </p><p>at its offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ewen said he was heartened to see local creative talent, including those </p><p>who have worked with the agency, branch out and set up their own </p><p>operations. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The agency has won about 30 international creative awards for a number </p><p>of brands, including Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders shampoo </p><p>brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The 'Conical hairstyle' poster it produced for Head & Shoulders' </p><p>sponsorship of a hair-styling show in the country, received a finalist </p><p>certificate at Cannes. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Apart from P&G, its client list includes Foster's beer, and Italian </p><p>scooter maker Piaggio. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The office is also working on a campaign for Vietnam's Department of </p><p>Planning and Investment to drum up foreign investment in the country. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>